Spectacular Snorkeling in Aitutaki, Cook Islands

The Cook Islands offers some of the most gorgeous snorkeling and diving spots in the world. I was fortunate to experience its sapphire waters for myself off the island of Aitutaki when sailing on a Paul Gauguin small ship cruise.  

Above: approaching the island of Aitutaki 

As we closed in on our destination early in the morning, we learned that the waters surrounding the island are very, very deep (as you can see in the deep navy blue color of the ocean around the ship. Contrast that to the much lighter blue of the water out in the distance where the depth is drastically more shallow). Due to the depth, the ship could not use its anchor. Instead, they use Dynamic Positioning with their engines to keep the ship in roughly the same spot all day long while there. 

Amazingly, the island of Aitutaki is actually a sinking volcano with a lava reef all around its perimeter. If you look closely, you can see a narrow channel allowing fishing boats, tender boats, and supply boats into the harbor. Our Paul Gauguin ship was relatively small, but still was way too big to enter that narrow channel. Plus, inside the ring of lava reef there are still plenty of sand bars and the like that only shallow draft boats can navigate through.

I have to note that I did not adjust the color of the water in any of these photos; it really was this brilliant blue!

Also, it is still very deep here where we were only a hundred yards or so from the channel into the island. Again, the island is a sinking volcano, meaning the normally very deep waters of the Pacific are still very deep right next to the former volcanic island. 

Once we arrived via tender boat to the island, we boarded a local boat that took us out to start our snorkeling expedition.

Even the guests who were not able or interested in snorkeling in the deep waters had plenty of coral bits to view and admire in the beautiful shallow waters of the sandbars. 

Just off the sandbar, we saw a small pontoon attached to the rocks that was used by the locals to bring people out to visit some of the coral reefs in the deeper water.

Fun fact about this spot: it is best known for Giant Clams, which the Aitutaki Marine Research Center has been growing in a nursery and planting colonies around the island to help recover the species in this region. 

Swimming in the waters and seeing the sea life up close was glorious. In our snorkel spot, our boat was over a sandbar that is sometimes above water, and sometimes below it, and easy to stand on.

The nice thing was that we could take off our flippers before trying to board the boat, versus trying to hold onto the ladder with one hand and attempting to remove the flippers with the other (without dropping them!) before hauling yourself aboard. Sometimes the little logistics make all the difference. 

After a full day of great water activity, we returned to the island and waited for our tender to take us back to the ship. Before leaving, I grabbed a selfie at the local church and school, and what looked like a Rugby Pitch. Our last sight of Aitutaki for the day was the most beautiful sunset.  

–Cathy Udovch